Fort Worth police officer arrested in off-duty shooting – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

A Fort Worth police officer at the center of a controversial 2016 arrest was arrested and booked into the Tarrant County Jail after being involved in an off-duty shooting earlier this month, according to a police department news release.

Officer William Martin was arrested on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after the Major Case Unit investigated a shooting following an altercation with another driver on Interstate 35W, police said.

The arrest followed an incident on September 3 in which an off-duty officer, now identified as Martin, called 911 to report a hit-and-run crash on I-35W.

Martin told dispatchers he followed the truck and fired a weapon when the other driver attempted to ram his vehicle, a police news release said. The driver was hit multiple times and was taken to the hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

The police department said Martin, who has been with the department for 19 years, was placed on restricted duty during the internal investigation. After his arrest, Martin will be placed on assignment, according to the department's press release. No further information was provided on what “placed” means.

“The Fort Worth Police Department is filled with officers who do their jobs right every day. Our department will continue to hold employees accountable who fail to meet the standards expected of a Fort Worth police officer, and in doing so, we will continue to be transparent and open with our community,” the press release said.

Martin is not on the Tarrant County jail roster and no mug shot could be found.

Martin's attorney said in a statement that his client is innocent and “his actions were fully consistent with the duties of a peace officer under Texas law.”

“This case is a prime example of what happens when a police department puts political expediency above a thorough and complete investigation of the facts,” Martin's attorney said in a statement. “Fortunately, the case is now in the hands of the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office, who we trust will handle this case appropriately and professionally.”

During a city council meeting last week, community members called for Martin's firing and more transparency regarding the shooting, saying the two incidents showed a pattern of troubling behavior from Martin.

Martin made headlines in 2016 when he was accused of using excessive force during the arrest of Jacqueline Craig and her teenage daughters.

Craig called police to report that a neighbor had been choking her son. Martin was the officer who answered the call and argued with Craig before arresting him. A video of the arrest, showing Martin wrestling Craig and her 15-year-old daughter to the ground, went viral. Craig's 19-year-old daughter, who recorded the arrests on her cellphone, was also arrested.

Charges against Craig and her daughters were dropped and a Fort Worth jury convicted the neighbor of assault.

Martin was suspended for 10 days for violating department policy.

The family settled a civil rights case with the city and received $150,000. Craig died in 2023.